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WHO Issues Update on Polio Outbreak in the Middle East

Mar 25, 2014

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), polio outbreak response in the Middle East is continuing to attempt to stop an outbreak affecting the region.

As of March 20, 2014, in the Syrian Arab Republic a total of 37 WPV1 cases have been reported: 25 cases by the Syrian Arab Republic Ministry of Health, and 12 cases from contested areas (Aleppo, Edleb and Deir Al Zour) not yet reflected in official figures. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on Dec. 17, 2013, from Edleb.

Further evidence of regional spread was confirmed this week by notification of a WPV1 case from Iraq, the first polio case in the country since 2000. The case, a 6-month-old boy from Baghdad who had not been immunized, developed paralysis on Feb. 10, 2014. Genetic sequencing indicates the virus is most closely related to virus detected in the Syrian Arab Republic. WPV1 was also isolated from the child’s 3-year-old sister, who did not develop symptoms. Prospects for rapidly controlling this event are positive, as Iraq has been part of a regional Middle East emergency outbreak response since confirmation of polio in the Syrian Arab Republic was received in October 2013. In response, all countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, in a joint resolution, declared polio eradication to be an emergency, calling for support in negotiating and establishing access to those children who are currently unreached with polio vaccination.

In Iraq, since October, two nationwide immunization campaigns and three subnational campaigns have been conducted, achieving overall high quality. Approximately 95 percent of children were reported to have been reached during each campaign, though coverage has varied by area. WHO and UNICEF estimates from 2012 put routine immunization levels in Iraq at 70 percent. Routine immunization levels in Baghdad are estimated to be 81 percent.

As part of outbreak response, efforts have been ongoing to strengthen subnational surveillance sensitivity to ascertain the full extent of transmission, particularly in the Syrian Arab Republic. Subnational surveillance gaps persist, particularly in areas of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Lattakia, Quneitra and Al Raqa. Surveillance quality has improved in other governorates of north-eastern Syrian Arab Republic, including in Deir Al Zour.

Phase 2 is being launched on April 1, 2014, with nationwide campaigns in: Egypt (April 1-3); Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq (both on April 6-10) and Lebanon (April), to be followed by further campaigns across the region in May.

In Israel, WPV1-positive samples continue to be detected through environmental surveillance. In total, 186 positive samples have been collected since Feb. 3, 2013, the most recent of which on Feb. 16, 2014. In West Bank and Gaza Strip 3 WPV1-positive samples have been detected by environmental surveillance, the most recent of which was detected in January 2014. No cases of polio paralysis have been detected in Israel, West Bank or Gaza Strip; WPV1 has been isolated from sewage samples only.

A surveillance alert remains in place for the region, calling on countries to actively search for additional potential cases in addition to implementing the recommended SIAs with OPV. The risk of further international spread across the region remains high. WHO’s International Travel and Health recommends that all travelers to and from polio-affected areas be fully vaccinated against polio.